A Willoughby man was arrested after he allegedly stole a large amount of cash from a downtown Willoughby bar on May 28.
At about 6:30 p.m., Willoughby police received a call from an employee at Mullarkey’s Irish Pub, 4110 Erie St., about a possible theft. A man had told a bartender that the basement bathroom was flooding. When the employee went to check on the bathroom, the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Nathaniel M. Lattanzio, grabbed a bank bag filled with cash that was sitting below the cash register and left the business, said Willoughby Police Detective Lt. James Schultz.
Willoughby detectives were in the area for an unrelated manner and they soon located Lattanzio, who matched the description from the bartender. Police allegedly found a large amount of cash on his person as well as a syringe believed to used for heroin, Schultz said.
On May 29, police then served a search warrant at Lattanzio’s residence at 4116 Erie Street No. 6, which is near Mullarkey’s. Inside, they allegedly found more cash as well as the business’s bank bag, Schultz said.
Lattanzio was charged with fifth-degree felony heroin possession and first-degree misdemeanors of theft and possession of a drug abuse instrument. At his arraignment hearing on May 29, Willoughby Municipal Court Judge Harry Field set bond at 10 percent of $7,500. A preliminary hearing is set for June 5, court records showed.